A few thoughts after a long weekend working on a special project...instead of enjoying the weekend. (More to come on this later, I hope!)
Brandon, the High Plains Drifter, discovered the worst idea for a new Husker video: A combination of watching the 1997 championship team eat dinner, the Bo Pelini introductory press conference, and spring game highlights. All for just $24.95.
The only possible explanation that I can come up with for this is that HuskerVision was committed to producing some sort of video...and no Husker fan in their right mind wants to buy a 2007 highlight video.
As it is, I figure this one is destined to join a bunch of those free AOL CD's in your landfill.
Now that the downtown stadium is looking like a done deal, we're now finding out what Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo plans to do with the stadium property. First up is a new "Arctic Center" as the new "front door" to the zoo. Let's see now...north downtown redevelopment gets a boost, College World Series guaranteed through 2035, zoo gets even bigger and better. Only thing left to find out is whether the Royals or a new independent league team will be playing in the new ballpark.
I know I've said it before, but I don't think I've said it very clearly. I still think the Royals play downtown in the end. It's not the stadium the Royals wanted three years ago, but it addresses some of the Royals needs. It's better for them than Rosenblatt, to be sure. 50% of the Royals ownership might want to move out of town now, but I think the other 50% is committed to staying in Omaha. And in this case, I think the "stay in Omaha" side will prevail. Why? Well, for starters, the 50% who'll keep the Royals in Omaha are named Buffett and Scott. Not to mention that naysayers who say that the Royals won't play there also said the new stadium wasn't going to happen, that the mayor was going to get recalled, city council wasn't going to support this, yadda yadda yadda.
Bo Pelini has a word for those of you who don't want to hear him say that Frank Solich never should have been fired: Tough. (But as Steve Hanaway proved over at the BigRedNetwork, these old wounds may never heal.)
And I have SEVEN words for Osborne's errand boy:
ReplyDeleteRECRUIT WELL OR YOU'LL GET FIRED TOO.
In other words...he should do things just like Bill Callahan?
ReplyDeleteThat's a good plan.
This is why I'm so baffled by Husker fan comprehension.
ReplyDeleteOur defense fell apart and two of Callahan's three classes were underclassmen, and people drew the mind-numbing conclusion that recruiting top talent doesn't matter. That conclusion really is so dumb it's beyond words.
It doesn't matter who your head caoch is...you should ALWAYS go after the best talent like Callahan did, and if you aren't getting them then get someone who can.
From there you have to patiently sort through head coaches, giving them time and opportunities to correct problems, until you find a guy who works again.
It's really just common sense, but for some reason it's really rare in our fan base and leadership.
Recruiting talent DOES matter. But how do you evaluate talent? Rivals? Puhhleaze.
ReplyDeleteIt's also only part of the equation. You need to have talent, but you also need to coach them up and develop them.
There were a few issues with all of the above in the early part of this decade. 7-7 in 2002 was the result of that. Solich made changes, and 2003 they went to 10-3. Then major changes occurred, and brought in coaches that were horrible at coaching and development. And we went 5-6, 8-4, 9-5, and 5-7.
If the top talent that Bill Callahan was bringing in was so much better, that talent should have allowed them to bypass lesser talented, more experienced players. In 2007, there were only about 13 Solich guys left on the roster. They went 5-7 and set records for futility.
Talent is only part of the solution. That is the lesson Husker fans learned last season, and I think it will become even more obvious this fall.
Callahan using Rivals to evaluate talent is some stupid rumor that Husker fans started in the post-Pederson venom.
ReplyDeleteCallahan recruited a lot of guys without "stars." Check the record. The difference was that he WAS able to go after and obtain highly sought after recruits as well. He wasn't slinking around the country trying to take guys no one else wanted and pretending that his ability to evaluate talent was simply better than the rest of the country combined.
Bo Pelini was one of the biggest star gluttons in the country. I laugh every time I here one of you Solich homers pretending that Pelini is this amazing coach that could take a team of nobodies into a contender. He was simply riding the coattails of Muschamp and Stoops, and we hired him just to restart the precious Devaney-Osborne royal line of coaches.
Try to back up your arguments, please. If you want to give Callahan a mulligan for 2004, fine.
ReplyDeleteBut where did I say that Callahan used Rivals to evaluate talent? I said that people use Rivals star ratings to evaluate recruiting, and I'll argue that's bogus.
You say that Callahan recruited "a lot of guys without stars". Ok. Let's hear them. The only one I'm aware of is Matt Slauson, who was a 0-star when he signed, but that's because he spent a year at a prep school. The year before he arrived in Lincoln, he was a 3-star, IIRC.
And if you want to be taken seriously, at least bother to register for a Blogger account.
In Callahan's 3 classes there were 8 guys with two stars or less according to Rivals.
ReplyDeleteYour comparisons of Solich to Callahan are funny. Solich inherited a program in perfect working order and stocked with talent. He didn't have to completely change the offense to an entirely different system. It's a ridiculous comparison.
Callahan inherited an option offense that hadn't worked since Osborne's recruits left. I don't care about Callahan but if you honestly thought it was just magically going to turn around rapidly you're an idiot. He actually did get our new offense going the last two seasons here, but unfortunately the defense collapsed and bitter little Solichistas came running out to bury him.
Solich followers who spent four years arguing that he deserved more than one year with his SIX new assistants after inheriting the top program denied Callahan a chance to even replace one defensive coordinator, let alone have a year with him.
I really don't give a damn who is coaching us, but whoever it is had better be able to compete and obtain top talent.
Do you honestly think any other major program sits around debating whether a bunch of nobodies and walk-ons can bring them back? Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Pelini doesn't have Stoops or Saban's elite recruits anymore. If he recruits like Solich we are going to be firing him in 4 years.
You said "no star" not "two star" recruits. Get your story straight.
ReplyDeleteYour comment about Solich inheriting the program in "perfect working order" says just about everything about the unrealistic expectations you had for Frank Solich. Osborne went 60-3 in his final five seasons. Expecting that to continue is sheer insanity...
Callahan got a pass for 5-6 in 2004. All Nebraska fans wanted to see was improvement. We got that in 2005. 8-4. We got that in 2006. 9-5. Then, with Callahan's fabled 2005 recruiting class turning into redshirt sophomores and juniors, you should start seeing their impact on the program.
76 points to Kansas; 79-6 in seven quarters against Missouri & Okie State.
If your point is... you need to recruit well. Fine. But you also need to coach and prepare your team. If you fail to do so, you'll get fired as well.