Talent gap my a$$

[NikkiSixx]

What? After a season in which they kept us in games all the time, your advice is to pull the blackshirts?

I get that people are upset and all, but enough with the drama... all pulling the shirts might do is lose this team again... you can't do something so drastic because of one game. Way too knee jerk here...

If you thought that yesterday's defense is deserving of wearing those blackshirts during practice this week, I think you're out of your mind. You must think the players are fragile and coddling to them will improve their mental toughness and play on the field. I disagree 100%.

 

[timnsun]

If you thought that yesterday's defense is deserving of wearing those blackshirts during practice this week, I think you're out of your mind. You must think the players are fragile and coddling to them will improve their mental toughness and play on the field. I disagree 100%.

Not what I'm saying at all... what I am saying is this is not the time to overreact. And so far this year our defense has kept us in games when our offense has struggled. But you're ready to yank the shirts after this debacle. News flash... it's one game. Bad, sure. Up there among the worst losses we have had. But worthy of pulling the shirts? Not in my opinion. This isn't Bo Pelini coaching anymore... that kind of knee jerk crap isn't gonna happen.

 

[NikkiSixx]

Not what I'm saying at all... what I am saying is this is not the time to overreact. And so far this year our defense has kept us in games when our offense has struggled. But you're ready to yank the shirts after this debacle. News flash... it's one game. Bad, sure. Up there among the worst losses we have had. But worthy of pulling the shirts? Not in my opinion. This isn't Bo Pelini coaching anymore... that kind of knee jerk crap isn't gonna happen.

The defense did what it was supposed to do previously. You're acting like there is a goodwill piggy bank and if the defense does a good job, you get to put in a dollar every week. To me it's just silly that kind of thinking. It's like a participation trophy.
What disciplinary action would you take? I think it's completely justified to pull the shirts until they are earned back. What does the prior coach have to do with this and why are you bringing him up?

 

[timnsun]

The defense did what it was supposed to do previously. You're acting like there is a goodwill piggy bank and if the defense does a good job, you get to put in a dollar every week. To me it's just silly that kind of thinking. It's like a participation trophy.
What disciplinary action would you take? I think it's completely justified to pull the shirts until they are earned back. What does the prior coach have to do with this and why are you bringing him up?

McBride never did it this way... It was prolonged bad play that led to the pulling of the shirts, if ever (don't remember if they ever got pulled... seems like they did). Bo played with them like a yo yo, that's what the prior coach had to do with this. You are advocating a Bo practice, which I don't agree with.

My point is you don't do this after one game. Did they pull the shirts last year? If not, then why after this one game? Knee jerk reactions suck...

 

[Clevinger]

You're playing a bunch of freshmen! If this is such a big talent gap then explain Indiana, Penn St, Wisconsin etc. Who all played OSU tough! We didn't come to play AGAIN! Scared little boys out there tonight!

Agree that our team played scared. However, when Ryker Fyfe is you second best qb, you have a talent issue. Our offensive line is thin too. Our defense, realizing our offense couldn't move the ball, curled into a fetal position and waited for it all to end.

 

[NikkiSixx]

McBride never did it this way... It was prolonged bad play that led to the pulling of the shirts, if ever (don't remember if they ever got pulled... seems like they did). Bo played with them like a yo yo, that's what the prior coach had to do with this. You are advocating a Bo practice, which I don't agree with.

My point is you don't do this after one game. Did they pull the shirts last year? If not, then why after this one game? Knee jerk reactions suck...

I said nothing about prior coaches or yo yo type things. It's not a knee jerk reaction. They played terrible as a unit, uninspired, they didn't fight hard. So that is why I would pull them until they are earned back with the proper effort. What's wrong with that? You're making this into aother thing about the prior coach. It has nothing to do with that, so please stop with your agenda. Let the old ball coach and those issues go.

 

[GBRhuskers]

There is a talent gap, not 59 points though.

 

[saluno22]

I too thought the defense mentally gave up before halftime. That was the biggest disappointment to me. We have big problems on the offensive line, but defensively, this was absolute garbage.

Guys were out of position, sloppy tackling, getting beat by receivers, it was all there in spades. It didn't appear to change either. Did we make any adjustments? Did we stop them even once?

I don't know what happened with that, but that was one of the worst defensive performances ever. I don't think it was a talent gap thing either. I think the energy was not there, it was like the defense didn't want to win, didn't want to fight.

That lack of intensity is unacceptable. Take away the blackshirts.

I agree with everything except the last sentence. If something like that happens again, sure, maybe make a statement by taking away the blackshirts. But let's see if our coaches can be motivators and if our players have enough pride to get the intensity corrected.

What I saw last night was an emotionally taxed team that finally hit a breaking point. After Tommy went down, it snowballed even worse. My question is why we didn't start playing more backups late in the 3rd or early in the 4th after the game was well out of hand (I know Weber played a lot). It was obvious many starters (not all) were checked out.

I wasn't paying terribly close attention, but how much did the Davis twins play? Seems like this would have been a great opportunity to get them experience.

 

[NikkiSixx]

What I saw last night was an emotionally taxed team that finally hit a breaking point. After Tommy went down, it snowballed even worse. My question is why we didn't start playing more backups late in the 3rd or early in the 4th after the game was well out of hand (I know Weber played a lot). It was obvious many starters (not all) were checked out.

Did you think it was from being emotionally taxed from the Wisconsin game? or injuries? or the hype of this game building all week? Curious, as I'm not sure where the team was emotionally taxed out to start with.

I have no idea about the backups. It seems the staff likes to run people in and out like a pro style system. I don't know the rhyme or reason to it, but it's frustrating to see Wilbon get 9 yards on a carry, only to be pulled the next play. Not sure how that all worked on the D-Line.

 

[nebcountry]

There is a talent gap, not 59 points though.

This is true as I see it, and what I would've posted. 59 points? A debacle of mammoth proportions.

Not directed at GBRhuskers or anyone for that matter. We can't take away blackshirts, starters wear blackshirts in practice, and we're gonna continue to have defensive starters. It's tradition.

I watched the whole game. I didn't get mad, I felt a painful embarrassment for the players, the coaches, and even us fans. The Bill Callahan 70-10. The Bo Pelini 408. And now the Mike Riley 62-3. We've established a new tradition.

 

[saluno22]

Did you think it was from being emotionally taxed from the Wisconsin game? or injuries? or the hype of this game building all week? Curious, as I'm not sure where the team was emotionally taxed out to start with.

I have no idea about the backups. It seems the staff likes to run people in and out like a pro style system. I don't know the rhyme or reason to it, but it's frustrating to see Wilbon get 9 yards on a carry, only to be pulled the next play. Not sure how that all worked on the D-Line.

I think it was a combination of injuries, back-to-back road night games against top competition, and an inability earlier in the season to put teams away early. While that last one could be spun as "finding ways to win late", which we didn't do last season and is an improvement, I think our effort last night showed a fragility when getting down by multiple scores early. There was no "we still have a chance" mentality, and that was evident in the players' effort. Makes me question our defensive depth (rhetorical comment, I know we have poor depth). Not sure how much worse the score would have been if we put more backups in.

From a record standpoint, this team is much better than last year. I agree with assessments that say we are learning to win, but playing that many close games is taxing. Throw in the talent gap and Tommy's injury, and we got the snowball effect we saw last night.

I agree with the Wilbon remark. Very frustrating. I wonder how much of that is still not having a complete grasp of the playbook to stay in for all situations.

 

[Harry Caray]

There's always going to be a talent gap with Ohio State. Urban brings in Top 5 recruiting classes every year, and they are on pace this year to bring in their best recruiting class of all time.

Riley was hired because of his ability to develop players. I'm willing to give him the chance to do that with his own recruits. But a beatdown like this starts to give you doubts.

 

[timnsun]

I agree with everything except the last sentence. If something like that happens again, sure, maybe make a statement by taking away the blackshirts. But let's see if our coaches can be motivators and if our players have enough pride to get the intensity corrected.

This is the point I was trying to make with Nikki... This season the defense has been nails for us, and no one expected them to step up this way after what we saw last year on that side of the ball, especially after the departure of 4 interior D linemen... To pull the shirts after this one game is a mistake.

The only reason I mentioned Bo (as a general rule, I don't much like to talk about Bo) is because what Nikki is advocating was exactly what Bo practiced during his time here. I didn't like it then, and I don't think it should happen now, especially after 1 really bad game.

I will try not to bring up Bo in the future...

 

[saluno22]

The only reason I mentioned Bo (as a general rule, I don't much like to talk about Bo) is because what Nikki is advocating was exactly what Bo practiced during his time here. I didn't like it then, and I don't think it should happen now, especially after 1 really bad game.

I was going to say this in my post, but I know bringing up Bo can lead down an unenjoyable road. I trust Riley to not make a rash, knee jerk reaction that would further undermine the confidence of the team.

I understand the sentiment of saying "take away the blackshirts" after the performance last night. It was embarrassing and there should be ramifications. I know it sounds like we are coddling the players as a result, but taking away the blackshirts is a superficial punishment. As I've said in other posts, the team hit an emotional wall in my opinion and there's no reason to bury them even further.

 

[Night Goat]

You're playing a bunch of freshmen! If this is such a big talent gap then explain Indiana, Penn St, Wisconsin etc. Who all played OSU tough! We didn't come to play AGAIN! Scared little boys out there tonight!

Dude, did you watch the same game I did. The reason nothing worked, is mostly due to the talent gap. We couldn't stop them, not because we got out coached; we got out talented. We couldn't move the ball. Why? The have better players. Bigger. Stronger. Faster. AND, yes, younger. There is nothing anyone can say that would lead me to believe that this loss had much to do with coaching or play calling. We just got whooped! Better recruit MUCH better or we're never going to get to where this fan base wants to get to.

 

[Wasker77]

You're playing a bunch of freshmen! If this is such a big talent gap then explain Indiana, Penn St, Wisconsin etc. Who all played OSU tough! We didn't come to play AGAIN! Scared little boys out there tonight!

I cannot agree with you any stronger about being scared. When receivers don't catch balls and defenders don't finish tackles something is wrong. The best proof of this is the Buckeyes even scored with Burrows in at QB. Nebraska has to get over the hump of taking themselves out of big games. We having been folding since about 1997. I do think Ohio State has better talent overall. We had nobody like their No. 4 on the field last night. It comes down to players executing and the Huskers choke in these big games. Our bigger concern should be if the Huskers rebound after this lost and to some extent the one from the week before. Prior to Wisconsin and Ohio State I would have said we beat Minnesota, Maryland and Iowa (All winnable games). Now, I am not so sure.