What's wrong with this team? or... What's hindering this team???

[coherbie]

I would guess the vast majority of us did not expect a step backwards from last year ... at this point in the season it feels like this team is worse than last year's team ... I believe that is what all of the consternation and hand-wringing is about.

Yes - our record through 7 games is better than last year, but the "feel" of this team is that it is not as good as last year.

I've heard that, I don't happen to agree with it, but sure, as if SF doesn't have enough on his plate, now he's got to contend with fanbase feelings?

There's probably a myriad of actual reasons NU is 4-3, but good lord people, grow a pair... the off seasons are long & there will be plenty of 2020 hindsight time to ramble about everyone's feelings, but during the season, which is more than half over - I choose to remain as positive as possible & enjoy the moments & each weekend to the fullest ... like a round of golf - there's plenty of time to rehash the tough shots & lament things in the clubhouse, but try not to let those frustrations impact your round out on the course.

 

[Oracle of Lincoln]

I was going to post this response to the thread about Herman Edwards vs Scott Frost at this point in their career at their positions. It ended up being very long and I thought it would be best to be scrutinized as it's own thread.

I will preface this post by saying these are simply my thoughts as someone who has not played football past the pee wee and middle school years, so my knowledge of the game is purely from observation. This is definitely not and X's and O's type of post but more of a psychological/sociological hypothesis simply based on observations and speculations.

I am very open to scrutiny, criticism, and skepticism. I just want to get other's thoughts about a simple concept that might be more complex than I/we have considered. These are just my recent thoughts after freezing my arse off in a nearly half empty stadium in freekin Minnesota!

This idea could easily be off, and my lovely partner could give you pages of examples of when I've been wrong before, but I feel that the pressure since Frost's hire has impacted the team's performance. Back to the Herm vs Frost post, there is far more pressure here at NU than ASU, and it isn't even remotely comparable. I have a very strong intuition the coaches and players have experienced this pressure ever since Frost was first hired and they are still working to manage it.

Most of us (myself included) knew that at the time of his hire Frost was our program's savior. The timing synched with Swiss precision as a coaching position came available during a time when invigorated and competent leadership had been restored. Frost's success had proven his acumen as a D1 head coach, with field accomplishments and warranted accolades. Along with him knowing the Nebraska culture and expectations, talk about a perfect match! And 99% of us (my estimation) believed that. I still do...

Frost was hired as the epitome of the Golden Child; progeny of home-grown athletic greatness, a true Nebraska prodigy, gilded in the forge of experience and wisdom exalted from the esteemed sage and Saint of Nebraska football. The intersection of education, preparation, and hubris was complete. Sir Frost was sent on his quest to awaken the great giant of football hegemony.

This may seem to be hyperbole to many, but I honestly feel this description encapsulates how many of us viewed Frost's return, and it may emphasize the type of pressure players are experiencing. This isn't simply an internal/external pressure, it is existential.

Transitioning into metaphor, I believe Huskerdom can at times be an extremely precise and sophisticated pressure cooker, where the compression (obsession) can enhance some ingredients while causing others to compress and deteriorate. I honestly believe the coaching staff is aware of this dynamic and is doing their best to temper the extreme external pressure with their approach, especially with their "no mistakes, just go fast and hard" mentality. As we all know, some foods are much more delicious and complete our anticipation/expectation when properly cooked under pressure... others simply fall short.

Back to this team... we saw them react and rise to the external demand during the first half of a highly anticipated and pressure-driven game against CU, a former conference foe (rival), with the added motivation of vindication for an extremely dirty play endured their leader who was victimized the previous year. This team rose to appreciate and possibly exalt that pressure to a point where they dominated the first half. To me the letdown performance of the second half depicted the exact pressure I feel is difficult for this team to manage. Beginning to fault in front of fans who sacrificed greatly to observe (judge) them could have added to the pressure they have earlier internalized, and contributed to a continuation of poor performance. I wonder if that CU game performance has had an overall lingering effect.

I really believe this team will excel once they start to focus on processes, both team and individual, and less on outcomes or expectations. If players focus on their enjoyment of the game in the present, appreciate what drew them to the game, while maintaining their personal and team goals, maybe the outcomes will fall into place. I realize that may be overly simplistic/reductionistic, but I'd entertain any discussion this long, drawn out theory could provoke Let's just keep focus on NE football for this discussion, as much as some have noticed I have fallen short myself. Apologies and forgiveness.

I think there is something about the NU fishbowl that isn’t necessarily positive for a resurgence. But every player on the roster had visited and knew what they were getting into. This kind of turns into a culture thing and when the culture is bad the fishbowl isn’t much fun.

 

[goodnterribles]

I think there is something about the NU fishbowl that isn’t necessarily positive for a resurgence. But every player on the roster had visited and knew what they were getting into. This kind of turns into a culture thing and when the culture is bad the fishbowl isn’t much fun.

Then maybe don't contribute to the fish bowl?

 

[Show Me State Red]

I was going to post this response to the thread about Herman Edwards vs Scott Frost at this point in their career at their positions. It ended up being very long and I thought it would be best to be scrutinized as it's own thread.

I will preface this post by saying these are simply my thoughts as someone who has not played football past the pee wee and middle school years, so my knowledge of the game is purely from observation. This is definitely not and X's and O's type of post but more of a psychological/sociological hypothesis simply based on observations and speculations.

I am very open to scrutiny, criticism, and skepticism. I just want to get other's thoughts about a simple concept that might be more complex than I/we have considered. These are just my recent thoughts after freezing my arse off in a nearly half empty stadium in freekin Minnesota!

This idea could easily be off, and my lovely partner could give you pages of examples of when I've been wrong before, but I feel that the pressure since Frost's hire has impacted the team's performance. Back to the Herm vs Frost post, there is far more pressure here at NU than ASU, and it isn't even remotely comparable. I have a very strong intuition the coaches and players have experienced this pressure ever since Frost was first hired and they are still working to manage it.

Most of us (myself included) knew that at the time of his hire Frost was our program's savior. The timing synched with Swiss precision as a coaching position came available during a time when invigorated and competent leadership had been restored. Frost's success had proven his acumen as a D1 head coach, with field accomplishments and warranted accolades. Along with him knowing the Nebraska culture and expectations, talk about a perfect match! And 99% of us (my estimation) believed that. I still do...

Frost was hired as the epitome of the Golden Child; progeny of home-grown athletic greatness, a true Nebraska prodigy, gilded in the forge of experience and wisdom exalted from the esteemed sage and Saint of Nebraska football. The intersection of education, preparation, and hubris was complete. Sir Frost was sent on his quest to awaken the great giant of football hegemony.

This may seem to be hyperbole to many, but I honestly feel this description encapsulates how many of us viewed Frost's return, and it may emphasize the type of pressure players are experiencing. This isn't simply an internal/external pressure, it is existential.

Transitioning into metaphor, I believe Huskerdom can at times be an extremely precise and sophisticated pressure cooker, where the compression (obsession) can enhance some ingredients while causing others to compress and deteriorate. I honestly believe the coaching staff is aware of this dynamic and is doing their best to temper the extreme external pressure with their approach, especially with their "no mistakes, just go fast and hard" mentality. As we all know, some foods are much more delicious and complete our anticipation/expectation when properly cooked under pressure... others simply fall short.

Back to this team... we saw them react and rise to the external demand during the first half of a highly anticipated and pressure-driven game against CU, a former conference foe (rival), with the added motivation of vindication for an extremely dirty play endured their leader who was victimized the previous year. This team rose to appreciate and possibly exalt that pressure to a point where they dominated the first half. To me the letdown performance of the second half depicted the exact pressure I feel is difficult for this team to manage. Beginning to fault in front of fans who sacrificed greatly to observe (judge) them could have added to the pressure they have earlier internalized, and contributed to a continuation of poor performance. I wonder if that CU game performance has had an overall lingering effect.

I really believe this team will excel once they start to focus on processes, both team and individual, and less on outcomes or expectations. If players focus on their enjoyment of the game in the present, appreciate what drew them to the game, while maintaining their personal and team goals, maybe the outcomes will fall into place. I realize that may be overly simplistic/reductionistic, but I'd entertain any discussion this long, drawn out theory could provoke Let's just keep focus on NE football for this discussion, as much as some have noticed I have fallen short myself. Apologies and forgiveness.

Good thorough write up identifying your point. @MadRat stole my thunder in post #6.

I agree that Nebraska football is a pressure cooker. This does cut both ways. When times are good that pressure pushes and builds character and then in times like now if there is no trust and accountability throughout the team it can be overwhelming for some. We know HCSF has been through the pressure as a high school athlete bucking his home state to go elsewhere and then as a player competing on the national stage. As a fan I trust that HCSF understands the pressure, manages the pressure and as such keeps the pressure from affecting his staff.

The 'pressure cooker' phenomena at Nebraska I would be concerned about would be how it affects walk-ons and their communities. We know that Nebraska depends on the walk-on program to feed athletes in to the system and drive competition. The negativity that swings in and out of the program gives pause for athletes, their families and communities to explore options that may be more attractive to them. That was not the case 20 years ago. If a Nebraska kid (or elsewhere) got a chance to play for HCTO then you took it. The life lessons were worth the effort. The 'pressure cooker' swings at Nebraska stress trust between walk-ons, their families and their communities.

Editor's note: For the sake of brevity and to avoid Hot Sauce's whip, I have written in broad generalities.

 

[jreb14]

TO did not have the struggles of HCSF. TO started as a winner and struggled with winning the NC and few teams. They usually won games they were supposed. NO TO coached team looked this bad as Sat against Minn. The team is playing out of position and lacks mental discipline. I call that Bad Football. You can say we lack talent but the team lacks fundamental skills more than anything. We do not block or tackle with skill and that shows.

 

[Hville]

TO did not have the struggles of HCSF. TO started as a winner and struggled with winning the NC and few teams. They usually won games they were supposed. NO TO coached team looked this bad as Sat against Minn. The team is playing out of position and lacks mental discipline. I call that Bad Football. You can say we lack talent but the team lacks fundamental skills more than anything. We do not block or tackle with skill and that shows.

Its hard to disagree with any part of this post. Will it continue this way? I think at some point we will take that next step. I just thought we would have inched our way closer this year and so far we haven't.

 

[NUinID]

Frost lived through the pressure cooker and survived being in the middle of the LP assault on the ex-girlfriend scandal. Pressure is not the problem.

Trust between players, to make the system work, is sorely lacking.

To write off that the pressure put on the University of Nebraska football team and coaches by the whole state of Nebraska as a non factor is pretty near sighted on your part, but I would expect nothing else from you.

It is not the only factor, but it definitely a factor.

 

[wcbsas]

I've heard that, I don't happen to agree with it, but sure, as if SF doesn't have enough on his plate, now he's got to contend with fanbase feelings?

There's probably a myriad of actual reasons NU is 4-3, but good lord people, grow a pair... the off seasons are long & there will be plenty of 2020 hindsight time to ramble about everyone's feelings, but during the season, which is more than half over - I choose to remain as positive as possible & enjoy the moments & each weekend to the fullest ... like a round of golf - there's plenty of time to rehash the tough shots & lament things in the clubhouse, but try not to let those frustrations impact your round out on the course.

Its not my "feelings" ... it is the temperature of the team. Reading comprehension is important here ... at this point in the season it "feels" that this team is worse than last year. That was the statement that was made. We got stopped by Minnesota ... this isn't tOSU or Wisconsin ... its Minnesota who is at best the 5th or 6th best team in the B1G.

 

[wcbsas]

TO did not have the struggles of HCSF. TO started as a winner and struggled with winning the NC and few teams. They usually won games they were supposed. NO TO coached team looked this bad as Sat against Minn. The team is playing out of position and lacks mental discipline. I call that Bad Football. You can say we lack talent but the team lacks fundamental skills more than anything. We do not block or tackle with skill and that shows.

TO started out as a winner because he inherited NC caliber team. He had significantly less competition for players. There were no Minnesota's and Northern Iowa's and Troy's ... it was Oklahoma and the occasional Colorado or Missouri. He never had less than 9 wins a season because 7 of them were virtually guaranteed before the season started.

SF inherited a roster in shambles lacking quality talent particularly in the upperclassmen rank.

 

[Pops]

From what I can tell, your post is to long and I didn't bother reading 80% of it.

Also, we don't quite have the athletes to run Frosts' Offense properly, the same way TO didn't always have the athletes to run his option based scheme, until he did, the rest is history.

Except he went 9-2-1 in his first year then 9-3 9-3 9-3 10-2 on down the list. seemed he did pretty well without those that didnt fit his system

 

[goodnterribles]

Except he went 9-2-1 in his first year then 9-3 9-3 9-3 10-2 on down the list. seemed he did pretty well without those that didnt fit his system

It was such a different era though. Let's be honest, the big boys in college football back then could cruise through 75% of their schedule without breaking much of a sweat. That doesn't diminish how amazing TO's accomplishments were, because nobody has ever been that consistently great, but it would be that much harder to do nowadays. As much as I am going to throw up in mouth a bit when I type this, it makes what Saban has done even more amazing.

 

[Pops]

I do believe if social media and the environment that exists today was around back in the late '70s and early '80s that TO would not have survived at NU.

People would have run him off with his 9-3 10-2 10-2 12-1 12-1 and again down the list

 

[Pops]

It was such a different era though. Let's be honest, the big boys in college football back then could cruise through 75% of their schedule without breaking much of a sweat. That doesn't diminish how amazing TO's accomplishments were, because nobody has ever been that consistently great, but it would be that much harder to do nowadays. As much as I am going to throw up in mouth a bit when I type this, it makes what Saban has done even more amazing.

I was just replying to that saying he didn't do well until he had his players.

I agree about Saban...shows what can happen when you sell your soul to the devil

 

[goodnterribles]

I was just replying to that saying he didn't do well until he had his players.

I agree about Saban...shows what can happen when you sell your soul to the devil

I don't like Saban at all, but I have to give him props for his ability to get top 100 talent every year to buy into the team. That's a lot harder than people realize. Ok, enough of this complimenting Saban crap.

 

[Pops]

Its not my "feelings" ... it is the temperature of the team. Reading comprehension is important here ... at this point in the season it "feels" that this team is worse than last year. That was the statement that was made. We got stopped by Minnesota ... this isn't tOSU or Wisconsin ... its Minnesota who is at best the 5th or 6th best team in the B1G.

and who is 9-1 in their last 10 games