I am in no position to actually give the state of the union on Nebraska football but I will give my two cents. I am not in the "sky is falling" camp nor am I in the "Riley is our savior" camp (yet). Just a couple thoughts:
- The culture is better, I know Pelini and Riley are night and day different and this is not just about their personalities, although I think that plays a big part in it. Even after these bad losses the stench from the locker room isn't the same. I'm not saying it is all roses and nor should it be, but it feels like there is still hope and that is a big positive.
- The talent gap is evident, but I find the way the coaches identified this in year 2 was much better than in year 1. It was still obvious on offense that they were trying to adjust to a piss poor OLine and a running QB, but couldn't find a way to consistently get production on that side of the ball. On D, the lack of speed and skill at LB and DE was glaring at times but the results on D were much better than last year. I am optimistic about that side of the ball getting better again next year. There were enough problems, however, to cause concern about Banker as the head man on that side of the ball.
- Special Teams was a dumpster fire minus Drew Brown. I give our punter a pass and rightfully so. But the coverage teams, and return teams cost us so many yards and points this year. It's funny that the one game we had an ok Special Teams performance was Oregon and that helped us win the game. I think this area can become a plus with a simple coaching change. The talent is there.
- Recruiting is better, this has been discussed ad nauseum and won't get much attention here. But the type of talent interested is great, keep that up and more and more will say yes. Can't win them all, but get enough to look and we will win our share.
- Addition by subtraction. I loved the seniors and will miss Westerkamp, Reilly, Newby, Gerry, and Tommy but I think this team will benefit from fresh player leadership. Maybe the Pelini factor is a false narrative and it wasn't an issue with this team but I can't help but feel this team has to completely turn the table in order to move forward. Talent wise we may take a small step back in some areas but I think cohesiveness can more than make up for it.
I think the team and the state of the team is good. I also think the fan base is so eager for a winner than it's hard to see beyond the here and now. I have seen a number of people point to next year as the "make or break" year for Riley. I disagree. I want to see improvement, and I will be critical of repeated mistakes but the schedule is significantly harder next year and we will have a number of young guys stepping in to key positions. That's why having rational dialogue (I know, that is not the RSS way) and analysis of how things are and how are they improving helps see progress or lack thereof outside just the results. 9-3 looks better than 5-6, but next year 8-4 might be better than 9-3.
Just my 2 cents and GBR.
- The culture is better, I know Pelini and Riley are night and day different and this is not just about their personalities, although I think that plays a big part in it. Even after these bad losses the stench from the locker room isn't the same. I'm not saying it is all roses and nor should it be, but it feels like there is still hope and that is a big positive.
- The talent gap is evident, but I find the way the coaches identified this in year 2 was much better than in year 1. It was still obvious on offense that they were trying to adjust to a piss poor OLine and a running QB, but couldn't find a way to consistently get production on that side of the ball. On D, the lack of speed and skill at LB and DE was glaring at times but the results on D were much better than last year. I am optimistic about that side of the ball getting better again next year. There were enough problems, however, to cause concern about Banker as the head man on that side of the ball.
- Special Teams was a dumpster fire minus Drew Brown. I give our punter a pass and rightfully so. But the coverage teams, and return teams cost us so many yards and points this year. It's funny that the one game we had an ok Special Teams performance was Oregon and that helped us win the game. I think this area can become a plus with a simple coaching change. The talent is there.
- Recruiting is better, this has been discussed ad nauseum and won't get much attention here. But the type of talent interested is great, keep that up and more and more will say yes. Can't win them all, but get enough to look and we will win our share.
- Addition by subtraction. I loved the seniors and will miss Westerkamp, Reilly, Newby, Gerry, and Tommy but I think this team will benefit from fresh player leadership. Maybe the Pelini factor is a false narrative and it wasn't an issue with this team but I can't help but feel this team has to completely turn the table in order to move forward. Talent wise we may take a small step back in some areas but I think cohesiveness can more than make up for it.
I think the team and the state of the team is good. I also think the fan base is so eager for a winner than it's hard to see beyond the here and now. I have seen a number of people point to next year as the "make or break" year for Riley. I disagree. I want to see improvement, and I will be critical of repeated mistakes but the schedule is significantly harder next year and we will have a number of young guys stepping in to key positions. That's why having rational dialogue (I know, that is not the RSS way) and analysis of how things are and how are they improving helps see progress or lack thereof outside just the results. 9-3 looks better than 5-6, but next year 8-4 might be better than 9-3.
Just my 2 cents and GBR.
