Locked due to no posts in 60 days. Report 1st post if need unlocked Tom Shatel: Bo on a Mission

[HuskerNCorpus]

Interesting that he wants Nebraska to throw the ball more often.

 

[mjw11]

Interesting that he wants Nebraska to throw the ball more often.

Guess it depends on who is doing the throwing

 

[ThotDoc]

A very good article and I enjoyed it....especially the quotes below

"We've been good in special teams. But it's putting the ball on the ground, a penalty here, a penalty there. Look at the games we lost. It's the little things."

We definitely have to clean it up. When it goes south, it goes quickly. Fewer mistakes equals more wins.

He's encouraging his older players to take more ownership of the team, starting now

This also has to happen, whether it's captains or Unity Council or whatever. The older guys have to lead the younger guys and set the tone.

Pelini said much of the offseason has been spent looking at "what we did, who we are and what we want to be," especially on offense. NU ran the ball 68 percent of the time in Tim Beck's offense last year. Pelini wants to balance it more.

This will take a QB that can throw the ball better than Martinez has and we have to have fewer drops.

"Brion got better as the season went on, and I think that with this spring, it's going to be good competition," Pelini said. "There were a couple of games where I thought we should have gotten him in at the end. But it's not because he can't play. There are some things he does really, really well.

I want to see him on the field, so he better get the playbook down. There has to be more competition at this position.

"These guys don't even understand how much further they have to go, how much room there is for them to grow in life. They have to be pushed. Guys who haven't worked with me, they have to know that's who I am. I am going to keep pushing. And I'm not going to stop."

This quote keeps giving me hope. I want him to push and push hard and I want the players to relish in it.

 

[PaperIsDead]

Interesting that he wants Nebraska to throw the ball more often.

Yes, I found this interesting also. Which makes me think that Taylor isn't necessarily the "ideal" QB for our system, he's in there because he's shown playmaking ability (compared to Lee and Green, and presumably Carnes). I wonder if he can find his Okie State 2010 mojo again.

---------

Another quote I found interesting, and it's something that rings true with me, was Pelini's insight into the fan/team interaction. When we lose a game it's like the end of the world around here, when we win one it's like we are MNC bound. In 2011, the fan tendency to become despondent following losses was worse than I can ever remember. At times, it got very ugly following losses:

Pelini said his Huskers haven't handled success very well. And he brought up what he thinks is a valid reason: the atmosphere around the program, including social media. Pelini said the fans and media ride the roller coaster after big wins or losses. His players tend to pick up on it.

Nebraska coaches and players have faced that issue for decades. The emotions are more accessible on a computer now. But it's the coach's job to get his team to focus. Pelini is trying to get a handle on that.

"Our fan support is phenomenal, "Pelini said. "But they get really high when it's high and really low when it's low. They tend to jump the gun.

 

[MyBraska]

Another quote I found interesting, and it's something that rings true with me, was Pelini's insight into the fan/team interaction. When we lose a game it's like the end of the world around here, when we win one it's like we are MNC bound. In 2011, the fan tendency to become despondent following losses was worse than I can ever remember. At times, it got very ugly following losses:

Key in that quote, to me, is that "the players tend to pick up on it". I imagine when we discuss the aftermath of a bad game, including picking out players mistakes and weaknesses, many don't think the players are reading it or are influenced by our words. Sounds like they are.

 

[PaperIsDead]

Key in that quote, to me, is that "the players tend to pick up on it". I imagine when we discuss the aftermath of a bad game, including picking out players mistakes and weaknesses, many don't think the players are reading it or are influenced by our words. Sounds like they are.

I agree. Consider the situation: 18-22 year-old kids playing football on TV every week, being interviewed by all the local media and ESPN, and being talked about 24 hours per day by thousands of fans. At that age, I would have been soaking it up too. While I think some of the negative stuff following losses hurts, my sense is that it's the success and winning that is the bigger problem. When our Huskers win, not only does their national ranking go up, but we fans talk about how great they are- I mean, the koolaid is overflowing... that has got to get in their heads, and it sounds like to the point where some guys will skip watching film of a "lowly" Northwestern team, because how could NW possibly beat the Mighty Huskers?

I don't think this is a new phenomena, but social media has certainly blown it up more than ever before. It's no longer as simple as not watching the sports news or not picking up the paper. Now, it's everywhere: Facebook, Twitter, blogs... all of it available 24 hours per day with a touch of your cell.

I wonder what other teams do, if they do anything in particular, to help the players maintain some humility and avoid complacency.

 

[utsker]

I agree. Consider the situation: 18-22 year-old kids playing football on TV every week, being interviewed by all the local media and ESPN, and being talked about 24 hours per day by thousands of fans. At that age, I would have been soaking it up too. While I think some of the negative stuff following losses hurts, my sense is that it's the success and winning that is the bigger problem. When our Huskers win, not only does their national ranking go up, but we fans talk about how great they are- I mean, the koolaid is overflowing... that has got to get in their heads, and it sounds like to the point where some guys will skip watching film of a "lowly" Northwestern team, because how could NW possibly beat the Mighty Huskers?

I don't think this is a new phenomena, but social media has certainly blown it up more than ever before. It's no longer as simple as not watching the sports news or not picking up the paper. Now, it's everywhere: Facebook, Twitter, blogs... all of it available 24 hours per day with a touch of your cell.

I wonder what other teams do, if they do anything in particular, to help the players maintain some humility and avoid complacency.

Throw in the fact that the fans thinking that some players should be on the field more often (Turner / Carnes / Osborne / etc..) they might buy into it that they're good enough already and not focus on what the coaches think they still need to do to see the field. And as much as we bitch about certain guys seeing more playing time, it could be that they may not have the natural ability, but they're busting their butts to do what the coaches want/expect out of the guys that are going to put on the field.

 

[Power of Corn]

his fire and passion for the game is the reason we all like him, and its the reason he gets criticized as often as he does. its hard for a guy whos fire burns that hot, to change. I think hes doing it the right way, hes getting guys here that represent the program well, good grades, good character seem to be primary for him. I wouldnt want anyone else as our coach right now.
I wish as a fan base we could find a way to criticize him and the staff/players less, but that same passion belongs to the fans as well as the coach, so thats asking the impossible too.
I BOlieve.

 

[MilesBFree]

One of the very few things I disagree with Bo on is the full-time captains thing. 22* captains is fine, but even if all 22 are leaders, you still are going to have a couple of alpha players in that group that IMHO should be tasked specifically with the role.

* Not sure if Shatel can't count, or if Bo had that slip

 

[MilesBFree]

The thing I don't get in the article (and in general) is the criticism of Bo for talking to other schools when his name comes up, and even for not talking to them but simply having his name come up.

I think he would be nuts NOT to take the call as it is important from a career standpoint to keep his network up to date and expand it. I believe him when he said Nebraska is his dream job and that he loves it here. I also believe he does not want to go anywhere else.

But a head coach never knows when things will change radically. Dr. Tom is going to retire at some point, and you never know who the next AD is going to be - and it could very well be one of the other ADs he has the courtesy to talk to if they call him. Or the next AD could be the second coming of Pedy and Bo saw what happened last time first-hand as our DC.

I am not sure if all schools honor the process of asking the current AD (i.e.- Dr. Tom) if it is OK to talk to Bo before calling, but suspect that he has given Bo the blessing to do so if/when this pops up. I also suspect that Dr. Tom is mentoring Bo not just in the Xs and Os aspect of football HC but also in a more general career way, and that should also include the importance of networking.

So simply taking the call, meeting the AD, discussing things in general, even discussing the specific job - all of that is part of the networking process. It doesn't mean he took the call with the intent of going elsewhere or getting a better deal. Not that his sole purpose of taking the call is doing research into what the other school's future plans are, but if I were him I would ask things such as what the budget is, what their facilities plans are, what their academic policies are WRT the football program, recruiting data, etc. It would give him additional data points to what he should be expecting here and if he needs to ask for other changes. Not sure if he eventually wants to become an AD when his HC days are done, but you always want to learn about what the job is at the next level above where you are currently so as to prepare yourself for it. So network away.

Bo isn't exactly on LinkedIn - I did check

I also suspect that there isn't a better complete package for Bo so am not worried about him leaving. I don't see him having the tolerance for some of the practices at certain SEC schools, even if the local recruiting grounds may be more fertile.

So I am fine with him talking to other schools.

 

[utsker]

One of the very few things I disagree with Bo on is the full-time captains thing. 22* captains is fine, but even if all 22 are leaders, you still are going to have a couple of alpha players in that group that IMHO should be tasked specifically with the role.

* Not sure if Shatel can't count, or if Bo had that slip

True leaders don't need to be picked by the coaches. They rise up on their own, lead by example and walk the talk. So I also disagree with the junior soccer league everyone plays approach that Bo uses to pick captains....but then again, other than a coin toss, what do those captains do anyway.

 

[Red Wiggler]

Honestly, I didn't make that connection when reading this part. But it didn't make much sense to me the way it's written/quoted. I had to re-read it several times to figure out what Bo was saying.

What I understand him to be saying is that players and coaches have to be consistent as people. A player who doesn't prepare for class is not likely to be a player who prepares for games. A player who doesn't practice well cannot play well. The two things are the same; you're either a person who gives 100% or you're not. People who think they can give 50% sometimes and 100% other times invariably fail. Giving 100% is an attitude, and it takes practice. (I don't know about you all, but I see this every single day at work).

My context for associating Raymond to the quote was the preceding sentence which was:

He wouldn't say the play, but the educated guess here is it was the Hail Mary touchdown just before halftime.

The quote I posted followed this line.

From the untrained observer (me,) I thought several of the key DBs improved across the season, so it seemed odd to me that every coach but Raymond got a raise. Really just stupid speculation on my part. Could be a many reasons outside of performance, so was an irresponsible speculative post.

 

[PaperIsDead]

Throw in the fact that the fans thinking that some players should be on the field more often (Turner / Carnes / Osborne / etc..) they might buy into it that they're good enough already and not focus on what the coaches think they still need to do to see the field. And as much as we bitch about certain guys seeing more playing time, it could be that they may not have the natural ability, but they're busting their butts to do what the coaches want/expect out of the guys that are going to put on the field.

Exactly. Two examples might be Brion Carnes and Jamal Turner. We've had countless threads and posts here from fans incredulous as to why these two aren't playing more. I imagine other boards and sites have similar musings. If these two guys are seeing this stuff, and I'm fairly certain they are at least aware of it, then it would be easy for them to begin to believe what they're reading rather than relying on the feedback coming directly from the coaches. Pretty easy to see how that could 1) cause some complacency, and 2) be divisive.

Makes me wonder what the O-linemen think of Cotton, the DBs think of Raymond, the team thinks of Taylor, etc. If everyone is tuned in, at least to some extent, to the fan chatter then all the bitter criticism that flows freely around here does nothing but undermine the team.

 

[PaperIsDead]

My context for associating Raymond to the quote was the preceding sentence which was: The quote I posted followed this line.

From the untrained observer (me,) I thought several of the key DBs improved across the season, so it seemed odd to me that every coach but Raymond got a raise. Really just stupid speculation on my part. Could be a many reasons outside of performance, so was an irresponsible speculative post.

I noticed the same thing, though, when the raises were made public. It was just after the bowl and Raymond's "criticism" of our secondary talent was still fairly fresh, and the secondary didn't exactly "Wow!" anybody this year. So it was easy to be suspicious of him. However, the most likely explanation I've heard is that he was hired in for more than some of the other coaches.

 

[MilesBFree]

True leaders don't need to be picked by the coaches. They rise up on their own, lead by example and walk the talk. So I also disagree with the junior soccer league everyone plays approach that Bo uses to pick captains....but then again, other than a coin toss, what do those captains do anyway.

That was pretty much my point - the true leaders are going to be obvious even in a crowd of leaders, and Bo should task them with specific responsibilities (besides the coin toss ).