Maybe We're Better Than We Thought

[HuskerRedDread]

But it hasn't been for a long, long time. Rehashing expectations doesn't change that. Pelini's defense mailed it in, year after year, in big games, especially Wisconsin. Riley's teams were the opposite of being physically and mentally tough. Every program has some residual-like inertia, both good and bad. If you don't want to see the improvement, you won't, but nobody is placing your approval and expectations as the goal.

So me pointing out frustration that it seems we go through the same cycle with every coaching staff is evidence of me NOT wanting to see improvement, or attempting to place my expectations as the goal?

Tell me what exactly is being said about this current staff and group of kids that wasn't being said bout Riley early on or even Pelini?.........eventually all of the kudos for the things that are suppose to be the norm couldn't stop the frustrations with the fans and desire for a change in guard. I would just like to see more kudos for actual milestones within the season rather than for abilities that are suppose to be present because they play the game.

 

[HuskerRedDread]

I think everyone expected us to be further along in year three. I think a lot of it gets back to largely striking out on offensive skill talent in the first couple of classes and guys leaving. Some of that was probably a few bad evaluations, some just happens after coaching changes, and probably a little bad luck. But we're basically starting over with with a new crop of talented receivers. A guy like CTB was always athletic and flashed talent. Now with a few years under his belt he's really come into his own. Our young skill talent will eventually do the same. It's frustrating that the staff wasted time on a guy like Mo Washington and we lost a guy poised to break school records. Just a couple of talented upperclassmen would make a huge difference on our offense.

But often when someone says things like "should" or "shouldn't", and so forth, that speaks to their own perceptions and expectations and can be completely irrelevant to the current reality.

I agree and understand totally what you are saying in the first paragraph. I have no actual dispute with any of that.

To the second should or shouldn't has been used by just about everyone on the board. Perceptions & expectations have/are given consistently by every fan as they direct their attention towards the team. I not sure why my expectation of us being able to function as a sound team consistently is considered irrelevant to the current reality.

 

[NorthwoodHusker]

So me pointing out frustration that it seems we go through the same cycle with every coaching staff is evidence of me NOT wanting to see improvement, or attempting to place my expectations as the goal?

Tell me what exactly is being said about this current staff and group of kids that wasn't being said bout Riley early on or even Pelini?.........eventually all of the kudos for the things that are suppose to be the norm couldn't stop the frustrations with the fans and desire for a change in guard. I would just like to see more kudos for actual milestones within the season rather than for abilities that are suppose to be present because they play the game.

Both of those coaches showed a high ability of no stability. One could never beat the better teams, the other could lose to anybody, and rise up to beat the toughest team on the schedule.
In year 5, three here, how can you draw the same conclusion with this staff and SF?

 

[Middle-aged_Ball_Coach]

So me pointing out frustration that it seems we go through the same cycle with every coaching staff is evidence of me NOT wanting to see improvement, or attempting to place my expectations as the goal?

Tell me what exactly is being said about this current staff and group of kids that wasn't being said bout Riley early on or even Pelini?.........eventually all of the kudos for the things that are suppose to be the norm couldn't stop the frustrations with the fans and desire for a change in guard. I would just like to see more kudos for actual milestones within the season rather than for abilities that are suppose to be present because they play the game.

You're certain that your own expectations are the litmus test; I (and apparently others) don't think that your expectations mean very much. I also don't care about what others thought or said about Pelini or Riley: who cares? I see a team that is better. If you don't, fine. Time will tell. If you need to wait to see a final record, fine. Exactly how much are others supposed to value your frustration versus what our eyes already see?

 

[Bleed Red]

So me pointing out frustration that it seems we go through the same cycle with every coaching staff is evidence of me NOT wanting to see improvement, or attempting to place my expectations as the goal?

Tell me what exactly is being said about this current staff and group of kids that wasn't being said bout Riley early on or even Pelini?.........eventually all of the kudos for the things that are suppose to be the norm couldn't stop the frustrations with the fans and desire for a change in guard. I would just like to see more kudos for actual milestones within the season rather than for abilities that are suppose to be present because they play the game.

It is not what is being said, but what is being seen that probably gives some fans more hope. Media and talking heads can "say" anything and spin anything, some people are just choosing to evaluate what they see. And i hate to beat the deceased horse, but very, very few people were incredibly optimistic about MR from the moment of hire (about as early on as it gets) other than people who let the sun rise and set by how many stars the next recruit has.

 

[Hville]

How many types of games like the PSU game has Nebraska found a way to lose the last 5+ years? That's why it's something to be happy and mildly excited about. This doesn't mean there's a lot more work and improvement to do, because of course there is. But a win is an awful lot better than a loss.

I think what is disturbing is we tried to lose this game too. If penn state had any type of receivers or a bad call on some d back we would have.

 

[goodnterribles]

I think what is disturbing is we tried to lose this game too. If penn state had any type of receivers or a bad call on some d back we would have.

I don't think we tried to lose this game at all. I think, given the youth, inconsistent play, and track record of losing close games, Frost decided to go ultra conservative on offense. He definitely played it too safe, and hopefully he learned a lesson. But in the end, they did something they haven't been able to do much in a while. I'll take it, as ugly as it was, and hope it's something to build on.

 

[Hville]

Both of those coaches showed a high ability of no stability. One could never beat the better teams, the other could lose to anybody, and rise up to beat the toughest team on the schedule.
In year 5, three here, how can you draw the same conclusion with this staff and SF?

so to your question....the win loss record and ability to lose to almost any team and beat nobody of consequences seems earily similar. I'm not sure how anyone could argue that right now.

 

[Hville]

I don't think we tried to lose this game at all. I think, given the youth, inconsistent play, and track record of losing close games, Frost decided to go ultra conservative on offense. He definitely played it too safe, and hopefully he learned a lesson. But in the end, they did something they haven't been able to do much in a while. I'll take it, as ugly as it was, and hope it's something to build on.

Again.....coaching mistake that seems to repeat itself. No different than last year colorado game. No we didn't lose it because our defense cam up big in the last half of the fourth quarter. But any rational person knows, under the general understanding of what trying to lose means, that sf did everything possible to lose. You are either trying to win or not. And he wasn't. Let's see if this pattern continues.

 

[goodnterribles]

Again.....coaching mistake that seems to repeat itself. No different than last year colorado game. No we didn't lose it because our defense cam up big in the last half of the fourth quarter. But any rational person knows, under the general understanding of what trying to lose means, that sf did everything possible to lose. You are either trying to win or not. And he wasn't. Let's see if this pattern continues.

And if he had been aggressive and his redshirt freshman QB had multiple turnovers, and NU lost, this board would've slaughtered him. There needs to be a better balance, absolutely, but it's a no win situation. Winning ugly is still winning, and there were a lot of people who doubted that SF could win ugly.

 

[huskrthill]

One of the reasons why it's taken so long for us to get results might be due to the changes in style and athletes. Not every 3-4 defense is the same, not every 4-3 defense is the same, not every spread offense is the same, etc.

We're closer to the type of offense that Pelini/Beck were running in 2014 than we are to the offense we ran from 2015-2017. The type of players we want are different, from offensive linemen to running backs to quarterbacks to linebackers.

We definitely didn't have the kinds of athletes on defense that we wanted. What I'm seeing defensively is so dramatically different from what I saw from 2015-2019. We're not perfect there, but we're not awful like we had seen in the last several years.

Offensively, I'm struggling to understand why we're still struggling so much. We thought we had our QB right out of the gate, but that hasn't worked out quite as well as we'd hoped. I've heard people say our offensive line is young, but I think every starter from last season returned. Some guys are multi-year starters. So we have some experience, but it's not translating into good performances. It's hampering our running game (even though our running game is surprisingly vanilla) and our passing game. Then you have receivers that aren't big playmakers. I think we're getting close there, though. This offense might just surprise us at some point as some of our more physically gifted receivers gain some experience and playing time.

Overall, I actually see progress. It's not as fast as I'd hoped, but we're going the right direction. Winning a close game against a team with equal or better talent can't just be dismissed. Good teams take advantage of opportunities, and for one game (or one half?) we did that. That's progress.

 

[Huskerthom]

I want to say to all of you and MABC. This is what discussion should look like. No angry emotion no silly takes honest supportable discussion. The "positive" folks are saying not where we want but I see improvement. "Negative" folks say not where we want in these areas but there is improvement. Others on this board could learn from all of you. Thanks.

Again.....coaching mistake that seems to repeat itself. No different than last year colorado game. No we didn't lose it because our defense cam up big in the last half of the fourth quarter. But any rational person knows, under the general understanding of what trying to lose means, that sf did everything possible to lose. You are either trying to win or not. And he wasn't. Let's see if this pattern continues.

And if he had been aggressive and his redshirt freshman QB had multiple turnovers, and NU lost, this board would've slaughtered him. There needs to be a better balance, absolutely, but it's a no win situation. Winning ugly is still winning, and there were a lot of people who doubted that SF could win ugly.

One of the reasons why it's taken so long for us to get results might be due to the changes in style and athletes. Not every 3-4 defense is the same, not every 4-3 defense is the same, not every spread offense is the same, etc.

We're closer to the type of offense that Pelini/Beck were running in 2014 than we are to the offense we ran from 2015-2017. The type of players we want are different, from offensive linemen to running backs to quarterbacks to linebackers.

We definitely didn't have the kinds of athletes on defense that we wanted. What I'm seeing defensively is so dramatically different from what I saw from 2015-2019. We're not perfect there, but we're not awful like we had seen in the last several years.

Offensively, I'm struggling to understand why we're still struggling so much. We thought we had our QB right out of the gate, but that hasn't worked out quite as well as we'd hoped. I've heard people say our offensive line is young, but I think every starter from last season returned. Some guys are multi-year starters. So we have some experience, but it's not translating into good performances. It's hampering our running game (even though our running game is surprisingly vanilla) and our passing game. Then you have receivers that aren't big playmakers. I think we're getting close there, though. This offense might just surprise us at some point as some of our more physically gifted receivers gain some experience and playing time.

Overall, I actually see progress. It's not as fast as I'd hoped, but we're going the right direction. Winning a close game against a team with equal or better talent can't just be dismissed. Good teams take advantage of opportunities, and for one game (or one half?) we did that. That's progress.

 

[NorthwoodHusker]

so to your question....the win loss record and ability to lose to almost any team and beat nobody of consequences seems earily similar. I'm not sure how anyone could argue that right now.

In context, they , our old coaches ,have context, this staff doesnt, not here anyways.
Too early to tell, but the signs are there.

Played osu well once, beat psu, has made iowa look like iowa, same for NW.
Consistency and team expectations seems to have risen, play as well.
But they need more time for a truer context of achievement or not.

Getting blown out by iowa, getting beaten by iowa after tenure and greater talent, this starts happening, could be the litmus test.

 

[goodnterribles]

I want to say to all of you and MABC. This is what discussion should look like. No angry emotion no silly takes honest supportable discussion. The "positive" folks are saying not where we want but I see improvement. "Negative" folks say not where we want in these areas but there is improvement. Others on this board could learn from all of you. Thanks.

Shut up.

 

[goodnterribles]

One of the reasons why it's taken so long for us to get results might be due to the changes in style and athletes. Not every 3-4 defense is the same, not every 4-3 defense is the same, not every spread offense is the same, etc.

We're closer to the type of offense that Pelini/Beck were running in 2014 than we are to the offense we ran from 2015-2017. The type of players we want are different, from offensive linemen to running backs to quarterbacks to linebackers.

We definitely didn't have the kinds of athletes on defense that we wanted. What I'm seeing defensively is so dramatically different from what I saw from 2015-2019. We're not perfect there, but we're not awful like we had seen in the last several years.

Offensively, I'm struggling to understand why we're still struggling so much. We thought we had our QB right out of the gate, but that hasn't worked out quite as well as we'd hoped. I've heard people say our offensive line is young, but I think every starter from last season returned. Some guys are multi-year starters. So we have some experience, but it's not translating into good performances. It's hampering our running game (even though our running game is surprisingly vanilla) and our passing game. Then you have receivers that aren't big playmakers. I think we're getting close there, though. This offense might just surprise us at some point as some of our more physically gifted receivers gain some experience and playing time.

Overall, I actually see progress. It's not as fast as I'd hoped, but we're going the right direction. Winning a close game against a team with equal or better talent can't just be dismissed. Good teams take advantage of opportunities, and for one game (or one half?) we did that. That's progress.

The key to if there is actual, tangible progress is the next 2 weeks. Take care of an inferior opponent, and then go to Iowa City win a hard fought game. I think it's absolutely doable, but I'm cautiously optimistic because I've been down this road too many times.