I know many of you have spent the last few months in a Magical Fantasy World where transfer QB's with 3-19 career records come into a new program and suddenly become 1st Round Draft Picks.
I'm sorry this past weekend forced you to step back into reality. However, I'm now concerned some of you have been living in the land of Pixies and Fairy dust for so long that you now lack the ability to judge Tanner without comprehending his need for development.
Many of you whom believed Tanner would be dominant from day one are now ragging on the kid, asking for him to be benched, calling him a "just a good practice player", or just flat out mocking him and his "ability."
Consider a few things:
1. Tanner Lee has never played a meaningful snap of college football before coming to Nebraska. "All of this "experience" accumulated at Tulane is fool's gold.
2. Out of his 22 games started for the Green Wave, only 7 of them were even competitive football four quarter games.
3. When getting pounded week after week, you don't develop the habits necessary to play winning football. You take more risks, and its almost impossible to understand the pressure needed to control anxiety in big game situations. I'm not saying he lacks a competitive nature, but I do think he hasn't had to compete much since High School.
4. Tanner was used playing in front 15,000 to 20,000 people. The Stadiums in Conference USA were tiny, and even the bigger stadiums were often half full. And when a school like Tulane travels to Georgia Tech or Duke, those crowds are half the size of Memorial Stadium and 10 to 15k smaller than even an Oregon game.
5. While getting your ass kicked at Tulane certainly comes with its share or adversity, its different than encountering adversity in "BIG TIME FOOTBALL." Nobody cares when you get sacked for the 6th time vs. Tulane. If you throw a pick 6 vs. Duke, it doesn't matter anyway. Your team is already down by 30, and nobody expects you to compete.
Going into the Oregon game, I actually thought Nebraska would get beaten worse than they did. I expected Tanner to struggle, and I didn't believe he would be ready to deal with the pressure of needing to score on nearly every possession. I also think his nerves got to him in the 4th quarter vs. Arkansas State. There were 3 throws late in that game that he missed which would've put the game away.
Now, his teammates MUST help him out. Hoppes has had the Droppes. (Boo me, its ok. I couldn't resist.) And Stanley Morgan needs to be the man when the opportunity is afforded to him. The Coaches also need to work some other wideouts into the game plan. DPE needs to be a bigger focal point, and nobody has covered Spielman yet this season.
But, I hope everyone realizes Tanner needed that type of game. He needs to see things on film where he can improve his game. He needs to be more conscious of big moments and learn how to overcome some of his nerves or anxious moments. The next step is figuring out ways to win those games.
Nebraska was never going to win the Big Ten this year. They have a pretty young team with a lot of faces that need to develop. I know that's difficult for many to accept. I get it, we all hate losing, and we definitely hate watching the Huskers get embarrassed like the first half. But I've been around and seen enough college football in my lifetime to know that game is going to make Nebraska and especially Tanner Lee a lot better going forward.
I guarantee when Nebraska travels to Penn State in two months, they will be much more prepared and far more competitive from the opening kickoff...
Chill out. It will get better. So will Tanner Lee.
I'm sorry this past weekend forced you to step back into reality. However, I'm now concerned some of you have been living in the land of Pixies and Fairy dust for so long that you now lack the ability to judge Tanner without comprehending his need for development.
Many of you whom believed Tanner would be dominant from day one are now ragging on the kid, asking for him to be benched, calling him a "just a good practice player", or just flat out mocking him and his "ability."
Consider a few things:
1. Tanner Lee has never played a meaningful snap of college football before coming to Nebraska. "All of this "experience" accumulated at Tulane is fool's gold.
2. Out of his 22 games started for the Green Wave, only 7 of them were even competitive football four quarter games.
3. When getting pounded week after week, you don't develop the habits necessary to play winning football. You take more risks, and its almost impossible to understand the pressure needed to control anxiety in big game situations. I'm not saying he lacks a competitive nature, but I do think he hasn't had to compete much since High School.
4. Tanner was used playing in front 15,000 to 20,000 people. The Stadiums in Conference USA were tiny, and even the bigger stadiums were often half full. And when a school like Tulane travels to Georgia Tech or Duke, those crowds are half the size of Memorial Stadium and 10 to 15k smaller than even an Oregon game.
5. While getting your ass kicked at Tulane certainly comes with its share or adversity, its different than encountering adversity in "BIG TIME FOOTBALL." Nobody cares when you get sacked for the 6th time vs. Tulane. If you throw a pick 6 vs. Duke, it doesn't matter anyway. Your team is already down by 30, and nobody expects you to compete.
Going into the Oregon game, I actually thought Nebraska would get beaten worse than they did. I expected Tanner to struggle, and I didn't believe he would be ready to deal with the pressure of needing to score on nearly every possession. I also think his nerves got to him in the 4th quarter vs. Arkansas State. There were 3 throws late in that game that he missed which would've put the game away.
Now, his teammates MUST help him out. Hoppes has had the Droppes. (Boo me, its ok. I couldn't resist.) And Stanley Morgan needs to be the man when the opportunity is afforded to him. The Coaches also need to work some other wideouts into the game plan. DPE needs to be a bigger focal point, and nobody has covered Spielman yet this season.
But, I hope everyone realizes Tanner needed that type of game. He needs to see things on film where he can improve his game. He needs to be more conscious of big moments and learn how to overcome some of his nerves or anxious moments. The next step is figuring out ways to win those games.
Nebraska was never going to win the Big Ten this year. They have a pretty young team with a lot of faces that need to develop. I know that's difficult for many to accept. I get it, we all hate losing, and we definitely hate watching the Huskers get embarrassed like the first half. But I've been around and seen enough college football in my lifetime to know that game is going to make Nebraska and especially Tanner Lee a lot better going forward.
I guarantee when Nebraska travels to Penn State in two months, they will be much more prepared and far more competitive from the opening kickoff...
Chill out. It will get better. So will Tanner Lee.
