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Husker Extra live chat: Steven M. Sipple, 1.9.17
Chat all things Huskers with columnist Steve Sipple during his weekly chat, every Monday.
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@Aaron: I wish I could explain it. However, I do wonder right now about Nebraska's commitment to a physical running game. How could you not wonder about the commitment after the last two performances? As for the Tennessee-overflows-with-talent discussion. I never heard a peep about the Volunteers' talent-laden roster before the bowl game. I still don't think the Vols are all that good. If you took away their top three players (Barnett, Dobbs, Malone), the teams in that particular game would have been on even terms.
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@NateBP: "Massive" may be overstating matters. I would only say "massive" if Nebraska remains outside the top 30. If that occurs, "massive" may apply in part because Shawn Eichorst has upped the ante on recruiting by stating publicly that the roster needs a talent upgrade. Folks are watching the situation closely. By the way, Nebraska's 2016 class ranked No. 25 nationally. Pelini's last five classes averaged 26.2.
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Sip, what do think of Urban Meyer shaking up his offensive staff somewhat? I liked when he said last off season he wasn't going to let his assistants make excuses and I like it that he said after 31-0 that 'we will not get used to this'. Is that part of Nebraska football's problem? Have we gotten TOO used to it? I've always wondered if, between Bolievers and Boleavers, the majority of Husker Nation was more in the grey area, keep Bo but he needs to make staff changes. And he didn't. Sure, Mike Riley has replaced 2 assistants in 2 years, and I think most love the John Parrella hire, but those changes aren't going to keep opposing coaches awake at night like the thought of Kevin Wilson at the controls of tOSU's talented offense will. And how about Saban bringing in young ex head coaches for his OC? Isn't there an old saying if you want to win do as the winners do?
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@JimNE: Good points. But based on my sources, Tim Beck had agreed to be Texas' offensive coordinator before the Clemson game. So, I don't give Meyer a bunch of credit for making a change in that regard. It wasn't as if Beck was pushed out the door. He was already gone. Getting back to your point, the Wilson hire by Meyer could be a big-time upgrade. I thought Wilson was extraordinary at Oklahoma as O.C.
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My take on talent/coaching: It seems to me that NU does not have a talent deficit to anyone in the BIG except for Ohio St. Even Wisconsin with it's amazing defense this year had some holes to exploit. So, the bigger issue is an offense and a defense that "knows who they are" scheme-wise. You never wondered what Bo was trying to do on D, and you didn't wonder that Tim Beck was going to run the spread run game. Coach Riley needs to go whole-hog in one direction, recruit to it, and be flexible to have defensive schemes ready for Iowa and Wisconsin instead of being "surprised" at a power/zone running team. I wonder if we need Bray to take over the defense to give it some flexibility. . . .
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@Aaron: Good points, but I would argue that Michigan also had a sizable talent edge on Nebraska -- not as sizable as Ohio State's, but sizable enough. As for the "know-who-you-are" sentiment, I couldn't agree more. I've said it many times. Iowa and Wisconsin have a distinct advantage over Nebraska in that area because of the long careers of Kirk Ferentz and Barry Alvarez. Alvarez's influence on the Badger program remains profound, and will stay that way as long as he's A.D.
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@JimDuryea: The issue is this: Most teams want seven-to-eight receivers, not only three. You need depth. You need to be able to shuttle receivers in and out. Nebraska is hoping to recruit three or even four more receivers, and it hopes two or three signees are ready to play.
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I read you, Sip, but don't get stuck on just Tim Beck (who basically was removed from play calling last year). Warriner, who was calling the plays, is in limbo. The point remains; Urban didn't give the guys who replaced Herman 3 or 4 seasons to establish themselves and then see what happens, the offense didn't perform in 'games that mattered' and Urban held them accountable.
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@JimNE: I like the way you think, except for this: What about the staff continuity that Tom Osborne espoused for all those years and became a program staple? For instance, Osborne gave McBride time to get the defense righted when it was struggling for a period of years.
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Tell me if you like this idea. Let's make SCC-Beatrice into a juco school. That could be our answer to losing the prop 48 guys. If guys don't qualify academically we could have them go there and use it as a farm system. We could even go a step further and put a guy like Jamrog down there to make sure we have a strong presence
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Nebraska beat Clemson in a bowl game in 2008, beat Ohio State in 2011, beat Penn State in back-to-back seasons. All of these teams have improved in the intervening years. The Huskers have not. Is it because of the coaching change? Is it because the Husker brand isn't as attractive to recruits?
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@G-Dub: Dabo Swinney has done a marvelous job recruiting to a school in the middle of a hotbed recruiting region. Swinney has benefited greatly from having a Heisman-caliber quarterback in Deshaun Watson who often has played to his enormous potential. Ohio State snagged Urban Meyer, and the Buckeye program took off like a rocket. Look at Penn State's recruiting region - - 12.5 million people in Pennsylvania. The Nittany Lions roster is loaded with in-state talent.
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Do you feel that the tenor of many of the reporters covering Nebraska has become more negative in line with the general shift nationally by many news agencies?
Some, like yourself seems to have made a 180 degree shift in your story tones. Sadly the tenor & tone of many of your more recent articles are similar to John Canzano here in the Portland, OR market. He comes across as an intelligent man who believes that only he has the answers to what afflicts the local sports teams.
I'm saddened because I felt that prior to this last season you were able to stay more to a middle of the road, give both sides perspective. -
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@NewportRed: I've had one NFL scout tell me that he goes to college coaches with this question: "Why SHOULDN'T I draft so-and-so player?" The reasons teams SHOULD draft players generally are apparent. The reasons teams SHOULDN'T often are less apparent, except in Gerry's case.
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Couldn't disagree more with the person who said you never had to guess what Bo or Beck were going to do on offense and if Riley would go all in on his preferred style of offense then Husker nation would be satisfied with two 6 - 7 seasons in a row, because that's what would have happened. TA could no more run a pro style offense all in that a man in the moon, he couldn't even accurately throw short slants, let alone down field like one needs to in a pro style. I think Riley, Banker and Langsdorf did well to mix it up until they have another year of their recruits and a QB that can accurately throw a forward pass!
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@CD: I think that's why many folks eagerly anticipate the 2017 season, which might give us a more accurate read on what's to come in the Riley years. That said, Riley/Langsdorf picked Armstrong to be their starter, even though Ryker Fyfe showed against Maryland and Tennessee that he might've been a legitimately viable option, and one who would have better fit the pro-style system.
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I'm disappointed that we didn't get any of the 5 last weekend, but at the same time to use a baseball analogy, when you have a power hitter, he can win it in one swing, but he's going to strike out more than most too. While I think we need to win a couple, let's not forget that we already have some big recruits definitely coming in & we seem to have forgotten that, or are at least taking that for granted.
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Yes! A reference to the good old days! Ricky should be happy. My opinion on that is we were winning conference championships and in the national title hunt most seasons. Nebraska wasn't losing 10-40 to 7-4 teams. TO had committed to his offense (what's Danny Langsdorf's offense?), and then worked with McBride and FSU's staff at the time to change over the D to something that would make them more competitive against the athletic passing teams that were beating them in bowl games. TO didn't have to make a change at DC because the DC was capable of making a scheme / philosophy change. I don't see Mike Riley and his current coordinators being able to do that.
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@JimNE: From 1985 to 1991, Nebraska won one outright Big Eight title. I remember those years well. It got pretty negative around here after Nebraska lost 45-21 to Georgia Tech in the Citrus Bowl to cap the 1990 season. McBride had a lot more time to get things squared away than you're giving Banker.
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Until NE has a QB that can accurately and consistently throw the football what four or five star receiver will come to Lincoln. Don't think that POB coming to Lincoln didn't influence Johnson or Gebia, maybe even McQuitty. Give current staff another two years to totally flush out Pellini and then judge. I think people have to think back and try to remember how many N hats have we had on the table during "the decision" for four and five star players during any all star game? Also, continuing to criticize recruiting doesn't give the incoming class of recruits the credit they deserve. Someone mentioned Penn State, how long did it take Franklin to get where they ended up this year?
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@CD: This was James Franklin's third season. And he inherited a program rocked by scholarship reductions, still managing to push program to a Big Ten title. The Nittany Lions return all but a handful of players from their 2016 two-deep. They return 18 starters in all.
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@NewportRed: The record was a major improvement, and I think you saw improvement in some crucial areas (fewer big plays allowed, fewer turnovers, better pass defense with more interceptions), but generally speaking, there wasn't a lot of improvement from 2015.
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Sip, agree with you on the anticipation for the 17 season and why but also think an inexperienced POB would have been better than Fyfe, but hey, I wasn't on the practice fields everyday and I am not a coach. I did see last years spring game and apart from the interception he threw on the last play, I haven't seen a Husker QB throw passes like he did since Humm, Ferragamo, QB's who could really throw the rock. But they had to balance not redshirting POB against what Fyfe could bring as a backup.
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Sip, I get it that Eichorst's job is to put a positive spin on things publicly, but when he talks around the questions about 'the games that matter' and the 2014 win over a 7-4 Iowa team vs the 2016 blowout loss to a 7-4 Iowa team, to me that's insulting to the intelligence of Husker Nation. Dont sugar coat it or pull a 2004 Bill Callahan and say we were in a title hunt, just say we're not where we want to be yet with work to do to get there.
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The Outland Trophy ceremony is here in Omaha this week and lo and behold guess who will be in attendance and will give out an award to Barry Switzer? You guessed it TOM OSBORNE! Again! Why? Can't those two just sit on the couch and watch television and leave us alone?
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