I hope this article is OK to post...

[Tulsa Tom]

If it is over the top, I can take it down.

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/mckewo...cle_fcbbabd0-2fdc-5b9e-b82c-15fc3e63a9bb.html

"Inevitably, you hear about “talent.” What Nebraska has, what it doesn’t have, which chips in the cupboard are stale and which juicy steaks are still frozen. And that’s all fine. I appreciate the talent conversation. I also cover recruiting quite a bit, watch a lot of tape, make lists, you name it.

Nebraska doesn’t have junk talent. Enough of that. That’s the past, too — the old recruiting lament. Hey, 9-3 talent isn’t junk, it’s 9-3 with a shot at better if you play it right. Waiting several years to “restock” is a risible argument and Riley, to his credit, wants no part of it. Nebraska had enough talent to beat BYU and Miami. And it has more talent than any team not named Michigan State left on its regular-season schedule. And even that talent gap isn’t as wide as you might think."

 

[baseball31ne]

Seems like an honest assessment. So there will likely be a lot of whining and complaints on here about it.

There are times TT I don't agree and others when I do. Kinda the point of life. Keep posting away. Kinda the point of a message board.

 

[huskerbaseball13]

There is more than one issue at play but Sam is wrong if he doesn't think talent isn't an issue. Hell, even the reporters on field leve were talking about the difference of talent last Saturday. But at the end of the day despite many holes in the roster I think we have enough talent to win the West and that's what I expect.

 

[leodisflowers]

Do we have some talent on this NU roster? Yes, but is it ready to go or going to play? Remains to be seen. Below is my opinion on talent:

QB - Great Talent, and Langsdorf has done a great job, but as of right now we have no backup, and there is a glaring talent gap. Save me the Ryker speech.

RB - Newby is a four star, but is far from elite, and our backs so far are mediocre. It might be different if we saw more Wilbon, but all of those stars on paper hasn't really translated.

OL - Have some players, but no depth. Could be good in the future with some of the youngsters coming up, but as of now call it medicore.

TE - Bad. For a power school we have nothing here really. Carter looks the part but has drops, and the TEs after that are not great.

WR's - I think we have some talent here, and not too worried about this position this year.

DT - Talent yes, and have some good future talent.

DE - Cupboard is bare. Freedom is only one with potential for this year. Very thin

LB - Very medicore, and not deep at all. Dedrick Young has promise, and MRI is decent, but after that.. I still think we should try to get Newby involved.. Back to DE?

Secondary - I believe the talent is there.

In summary, I think we have two groups where we have good talent that we match up well with and that is WR & Secondary. Other than that we are very medicore talent wise.

 

[anon_umk0ifu6vj6zi]

This is funny. Tom and his new buddy Sam... lol. Tom kills that same reporter for years for any opinion that may differ from the Sipple slurpfest. Tom also now praises the talent so he can continue to troll and talk shit about the alumni. This is the same lying preacher who throws a fit if anybody talks negative about an x-player, and also the same troll who crushed our qb last year because of butthurt over goldenboy. The hypocrisy is truly hilarious.

 

[HuskerTimOmaha]

Sipp junior gonna Sipp junior.

 

[Tulsa Tom]

I think much of what you post here is on the money, Leodis Flowers. Our frontline talent is fine overall but we do not have the depth.

I would disagree with being bare at backer. Michael-Rose Ivey is a very solid backer. I think he has a chance to be the best inside backer we have had since Barrett Ruud. I also think you are selling Carter out after a couple of drops. He has the look of being a very good TE.

 

[husker2612]

One of the twitter posts at the bottom of the article said this is feeling like 2004. I guess I had not thought of that, but now that it was mentioned, yes it really does.

1. A surprise/ unexpected fire of a good winning record coach (although not as unexpected)

2. Added hope and hype for the upcoming season

3. Talk of lack of talent and recruiting being the issues

4 The new coach will be a better recruiter. Once we have talent in here it will be way better.

5. Switching schemes pretty drastically. ( Riley not nearly as drastic)

6 Started season with early losses

7 Many questioning the QB coming into the season( Remember Joe Dailey anyone) I am impressed with Armstrong for the most part so far. Just way to many critical mistakes still

We all know how that ended. Now That being said I do think Riley is a better coach than BillyC. I do think it will be harder to get recruits in here than everyone thinks including Riley. Who I think for some reason has this mentality that it will be a cake walk and kids will be running to play for him at Nebraska.

The similarities are a bit frightening. The beginning of the season does have that same feeling as the early parts of the 04 season. Hope it doesn't end the same.

 

[huskerbaseball13]

I think much of what you post here is on the money, Leodis Flowers. Our frontline talent is fine overall but we do not have the depth.

I would disagree with being bare at backer. Michael-Rose Ivey is a very solid backer. I think he has a chance to be the best inside backer we have had since Barrett Ruud. I also think you are selling Carter out after a couple of drops. He has the look of being a very good TE.

Not sure if serious.........

 

[leodisflowers]

I think much of what you post here is on the money, Leodis Flowers. Our frontline talent is fine overall but we do not have the depth.

I would disagree with being bare at backer. Michael-Rose Ivey is a very solid backer. I think he has a chance to be the best inside backer we have had since Barrett Ruud. I also think you are selling Carter out after a couple of drops. He has the look of being a very good TE.

We have a few players that look the part, but until they produce I will be skeptical. Banderas looks the part at LB, but yet it has never translated. If he awful? No, but he misses a ton of reads and tackles. Maybe it was the groin, but he was subpar this weekend from what I remember of him. I'll stick to my MRI is decent. That is not a knock. He makes some plays, and is very good against the run for the most part. The pass can hurt him sometimes, and I also feels like sometimes he tries to do too much. Good player though, and no real complaints.

 

[timnsun]

One of the twitter posts at the bottom of the article said this is feeling like 2004. I guess I had not thought of that, but now that it was mentioned, yes it really does.

1. A surprise/ unexpected fire of a good winning record coach (although not as unexpected)

2. Added hope and hype for the upcoming season

3. Talk of lack of talent and recruiting being the issues

4 The new coach will be a better recruiter. Once we have talent in here it will be way better.

5. Switching schemes pretty drastically. ( Riley not nearly as drastic)

6 Started season with early losses

7 Many questioning the QB coming into the season( Remember Joe Dailey anyone) I am impressed with Armstrong for the most part so far. Just way to many critical mistakes still

We all know how that ended. Now That being said I do think Riley is a better coach than BillyC. I do think it will be harder to get recruits in here than everyone thinks including Riley. Who I think for some reason has this mentality that it will be a cake walk and kids will be running to play for him at Nebraska.

The similarities are a bit frightening. The beginning of the season does have that same feeling as the early parts of the 04 season. Hope it doesn't end the same.

I would agree that it may be harder to get recruits here due to the mediocre success we have had for 15 years, but I don't think Riley has this mentality you speak of... If he did, he wouldn't be putting so much effort into recruiting as he currently is. I agree that he believes he can get the recruits, but I think he feels like he has to put in the work to get them in.

 

[HuskerTimOmaha]

Michael-Rose Ivey is a very solid backer. I think he has a chance to be the best inside backer we have had since Barrett Ruud.

Banderas plays inside, Rose-Ivey plays outside. Unless you're talking our nickel package which wouldn't make much sense.

NU returned 3 scholarship LB'ers for the 2015 season. Three.

 

[jlb321]

Just ridiculous

We have the talent to come down to the wire against 2 unranked teams.
Let's see us against a top ten team

Having very good talent scattered about doesn't make a team. We are woeful at too many position groups, and that includes depth. A few areas where the talent is good doesn't in anyway make up for this.

 

[huskerbaseball13]

Banderas plays inside, Rose-Ivey plays outside. Unless you're talking our nickel package which wouldn't make much sense.

NU returned 3 scholarship LB'ers for the 2015 season. Three.

And two of the three aren't 100% going into the So Miss game. Nah, we aren't bare.

 

[Tulsa Tom]

Banderas plays inside, Rose-Ivey plays outside. Unless you're talking our nickel package which wouldn't make much sense.

NU returned 3 scholarship LB'ers for the 2015 season. Three.

I forgot he switched over after playing middle most of last year. It seems like there were a few times I remember him in the middle on Saturday but was too ticked to pay a bunch of attention...and I didn't get to see South Alabama.

 

[Shocker_Fan]

Newspapers are a dying industry. Journalism has taken on a new form these days to sell papers that no one wants anymore. Sam is a hack as the rest of them are. The only writer worth a damm at the OWH is Dirk C.

 

[Tulsa Tom]

Just ridiculous

We have the talent to come down to the wire against 2 unranked teams.
Let's see us against a top ten team

Having very good talent scattered about doesn't make a team. We are woeful at too many position groups, and that includes depth. A few areas where the talent is good doesn't in anyway make up for this.

Sam know his stuff. He isn't saying we can match Ohio State...in fact he says the opposite. But when you look at our schedule there is only one team that is really more talented than we are.

 

[puddinhead0404]

Keep doing you TT. Sees things differently and can back it up. Ya, sometimes a devils advocate is needed just to keep things interesting too.

 

[Tulsa Tom]

Newspapers are a dying industry. Journalism has taken on a new form these days to sell papers that no one wants anymore. Sam is a hack as the rest of them are. The only writer worth a damm at the OWH is Dirk C.

It's Monday...I needed the laugh. Thanks.

Dirk...

 

[otismotis08]

Stop trying to pin it squarely on jimmy's and joe's or x's and o's.
It's both. We need to ramp up recruiting and fix who we have.
This is going to take time, folks. And it may be a while.

 

[HuskerTimOmaha]

I forgot he switched over after playing middle most of last year. It seems like there were a few times I remember him in the middle on Saturday but was too ticked to pay a bunch of attention...and I didn't get to see South Alabama.

He didn't play last year, you're thinking of 2013 when he was a back-up on the outside then moved to the inside and flourished. IMO, this is a prime example on the lack of depth, which you denied, as Bando and MRI are both MIKE backers but we're forced to play MRI on the outside because there's no depth.

Yes, he and Young were our LB'ers in the nickel package against Miami.

Keep doing you TT. Sees things differently and can back it up.

Back up like not knowing Rose-Ivey didn't play in 2014? Or backing up like not knowing MRI is an outside LB'er?

 

[Shocker_Fan]

It's Monday...I needed the laugh. Thanks.

Dirk...

To each their own, Dirk is the first to take a stand against Pelini. He is not afraid to call out coaches or players for their performance. Am not sure why players are above criticism when they don't perform? If they are worthy of the accolades then they can receive the honest truth when they don't. If they dont like it, go play at Youngstown State.

 

[anon_umk0ifu6vj6zi]

And two of the three aren't 100% going into the So Miss game. Nah, we aren't bare.

Would be surprised if we have 1 of the 3 full speed this weekend.

 

[SnohomishRed]

We have a few players that look the part, but until they produce I will be skeptical. Banderas looks the part at LB, but yet it has never translated. If he awful? No, but he misses a ton of reads and tackles. Maybe it was the groin, but he was subpar this weekend from what I remember of him. I'll stick to my MRI is decent. That is not a knock. He makes some plays, and is very good against the run for the most part. The pass can hurt him sometimes, and I also feels like sometimes he tries to do too much. Good player though, and no real complaints.

you know every year we hear that we have talent - BTN looks at our team in the fall and yes we are the most talented in the west and yet each year when we lose we say it is talent and not coaching

I did not give Pelini a pass on the lack of coaching in areas and I certainly will not give Riley and his staff a pass

Every team has holes every team except the very top echelon have positions where they lack. We say we cannot run the ball due to lack of talent - yet our roster is full of highly rated backs and our line is designed to run the ball. No we do not run the ball well because the coaches do not coach the running game very well

 

[HuskerTimOmaha]

yet our roster is full of highly rated backs and our line is designed to run the ball.

Our OL is not designed to run the ball, Ameer Abdullah (by the way, a 3-star) showed that last year.

 

[Tulsa Tom]

He didn't play last year, you're thinking of 2013 when he was a back-up on the outside then moved to the inside and flourished. IMO, this is a prime example on the lack of depth, which you denied, as Bando and MRI are both MIKE backers but we're forced to play MRI on the outside because there's no depth.

Yes, he and Young were our LB'ers in the nickel package against Miami.



Back up like not knowing Rose-Ivey didn't play in 2014? Or backing up like not knowing MRI is an outside LB'er?

Ehhhhh...You know I knew he didn't play last year. I do remember talk of him switching this year but admit I totally forgot about that switch. I deserve bashing on that.

I never denied lack of depth. In fact I brought it up in this thread.

Our frontline talent is fine overall but we do not have the depth.

 

[ssmill777]

Just ridiculous

We have the talent to come down to the wire against 2 unranked teams.
Let's see us against a top ten team

Having very good talent scattered about doesn't make a team. We are woeful at too many position groups, and that includes depth. A few areas where the talent is good doesn't in anyway make up for this.

And to add to your fact about a few areas where the talent isn't very good - opposing coaches are smart enough to pick up on that and exploit it to the max.

 

[huskerbaseball13]

you know every year we hear that we have talent - BTN looks at our team in the fall and yes we are the most talented in the west and yet each year when we lose we say it is talent and not coaching

I did not give Pelini a pass on the lack of coaching in areas and I certainly will not give Riley and his staff a pass

Every team has holes every team except the very top echelon have positions where they lack. We say we cannot run the ball due to lack of talent - yet our roster is full of highly rated backs and our line is designed to run the ball. No we do not run the ball well because the coaches do not coach the running game very well

How would you coach the running game if you were Riley and company? What are they doing wrong in your opinion?

 

[huskerbaseball13]

Would be surprised if we have 1 of the 3 full speed this weekend.

Yep...if we are taking Sam at his word he also pointed out Young is not as slow as he looked vs Miami. His Toe injury could linger all season. But hey...we aren't bare at LB. MRI was a beast last year....oh wait. MRI is our best MLB since Ruud...oh wait.

 

[Tulsa Tom]

How would you coach the running game if you were Riley and company? What are they doing wrong in your opinion?

There has been almost zero zone reads and option plays. This is not a melding of two offenses like we have frequently heard. Our running game would open up if Tommy was a threat to run on more than just a scramble.

 

[huskerbaseball13]

There has been almost zero zone reads and option plays. This is not a melding of two offenses like we have frequently heard. Our running game would open up if Tommy was a threat to run on more than just a scramble.

We ran the zone read on speed option on Saturday. I would like to see us use more of Tommy in the run game but the coaches seem to be gun shy in not wanting him to get hurt. Can't say I agree with that despite knowing if Tommy goes down we don't have a capable backup.

 

[jlb321]

Sam know his stuff. He isn't saying we can match Ohio State...in fact he says the opposite. But when you look at our schedule there is only one team that is really more talented than we are.

This may or may not be true. Regardless while the talent, on balance, may be similar to the rest of the teams on our schedule some of these teams don't have the glaring massive holes in certain keys areas. Iowa for instance. You can't have 4 star talent in some areas and no star talent in others, and that includes competent depth, and win.

Offensive line is a particular area of great concern that is difficult to overcome.
And I realize I may be in the minority, but our QB play fluctuates way too much between 4 star level and 1 star level

 

[Tulsa Tom]

We ran the zone read on speed option on Saturday. I would like to see us use more of Tommy in the run game but the coaches seem to be gun shy in not wanting him to get hurt. Can't say I agree with that despite knowing if Tommy goes down we don't have a capable backup.

How many times did we run that this year? Not nearly enough to create a quality running game considering the skills of Tommy. Obviously, if he goes down we are screwed. But we need to be about winning games now.

 

[SnohomishRed]

There has been almost zero zone reads and option plays. This is not a melding of two offenses like we have frequently heard. Our running game would open up if Tommy was a threat to run on more than just a scramble.

exactly they have taken TA completely out of run game. Also look at the play calling they simply cannot commit to the run - Miami could have been run on but we choose to come out throwing

Lastly Newby is not an every down back if you do commit to the run - he is good in the passing game but he will never get you the tough yards - he is the type of back that once the defense is worn down he can burn them but he goes backwards way to much. I see this and wonder why we have not seen Wilbon not even for just a little bit. Cross has looked pretty good so far but this staff obviously does not believe in substitution

 

[SilentCommit]

Well, I started a thread on the "talent gap" recently, and many didn't agree there was one. I can see that point. What troubles me is what my eyes showed me - not statistics. In this one man's opinion, Miami's athletes were significantly faster, and significantly more physical. That to me is a talent gap. I don't know if that's recruiting, development, whatever. Up until last Saturday I would have agreed with Sam McKewon 100% about talent. You can talk about how the last three quarters went all you want, and my response to that is: our coaches are savvy. The secondary settled down, and the defensive scheme was solid, but we just don't have a pass rush. It's going to be that way all season.

To McKewon I would say, don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining. I know what I saw. Thank goodness we have solid coaches now. I'd take 1-2 Nebraska over 3-0 Miami every time. Golden is a terrible coach - the game should have been over in the early third quarter.

 

[jflores]

How many times did we run that this year? Not nearly enough to create a quality running game considering the skills of Tommy. Obviously, if he goes down we are screwed. But we need to be about winning games now.

We're struggling to field a LB corps in the pre season when we have the whole B1G slate upcoming and no bye weeks. I think at this point, Riley is more concerned with winning by whatever means he can, than he is, satisfying the philosophical demands of some of the fan base while doing it.

In just this thread we've seen calls to win now, and to build for the future. Which message board nobody is more right? Riley's going to do what he feels he needs to do.

 

[huskerbaseball13]

exactly they have taken TA completely out of run game. Also look at the play calling they simply cannot commit to the run - Miami could have been run on but we choose to come out throwing

Lastly Newby is not an every down back if you do commit to the run - he is good in the passing game but he will never get you the tough yards - he is the type of back that once the defense is worn down he can burn them but he goes backwards way to much. I see this and wonder why we have not seen Wilbon not even for just a little bit. Cross has looked pretty good so far but this staff obviously does not believe in substitution

How do you explain us running the ball more than passing then.. until we got down 17-0? Some NU fans are so delusional that they feel like if we are not running the ball 70 percent of the time it means we are passing 100 percent of the time.

 

[CC_Lemming]

How do you explain us running the ball more than passing then.. until we got down 17-0? Some NU fans are so delusional that they feel like if we are not running the ball 70 percent of the time it means we are passing 100 percent of the time.

Can I like this post one hundred times?

 

[Soda Popinski]

I guess I would consider our deficiencies as more of a depth and roster management problem rather than overall talent. It seems like we have 17 capable WR's and DB's we could throw out there and they would be ok. How then, do we only have 3 scholarship LB's and not one guy that can rush the passer from the DE position?

 

[huskerbaseball13]

Sounds like Rose-Ivey may be out for an extended period of time....luckily we are not bare at LB.