AJ the HuskerH8r had a little fun at my expense earlier this afternoon...and in typical Huskerh8r fashion, he's taking a few select quotes, embellishing them far beyond anything I actually said, then taking them out of context. Sometimes the guy has a point, but sometimes he also goes so far off the edge he loses his credibility. Hell, he still even believes that Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11 fer cripes sake.
AJ is on record as predicting 4-8 for Nebraska this year. I'm on record with 9-3, though I do admit to being rather wishy-washy on this point. I think dear 'ol Nebraska U will win 9...but I can also see 3-9 as well. It all depends on what caused Nebraska to go 5-7 last season. I firmly blame the "Great Raider Flunky"; if I'm wrong and it was much more than that, well, this season could get ugly.
But I'm not the only one predicting the Huskers to be much better in 2009. Matt Hinton (formerly the Sunday Morning Quarterback and now an editor with Yahoo! Sports) has the Huskers #22 on his preseason ballot. He says that what happened in 2007 has to be viewed as an aberration. The folks in Vegas (you know, the guys who set the lines) have Nebraska #39. Phil Steele also has NU 2nd in the North. So it's not just me and the rest of Husker Nation who's "deluded" about the Big Red.
He claims Nebraska has "zero speed". Now, let's take the absurdity of "zero speed". Certainly teams like Kansas and Oklahoma State raced past them, but the speed wasn't zero. I point out that some players have dropped 10% or more of their weight, and AJ mocks it... Fine...we'll see if that improves speed a wee bit.
He also assumes that Bo Pelini is going to be like Woody Widenhofer...a great defensive coach who was a horrible head coach. Maybe... maybe not. I think Pelini has all the intangibles, but he hasn't done it yet. Doesn't mean he will do it, but it doesn't mean he can't either.
But you know what... that's the offseason for you. We're sitting around arguing over who's prediction is going to be right and who's going to be wrong. It may make for interesting reading, but in the grand scheme of things, it's merely a loud obnoxious conversation.
But just so you know AJ's track record with predictions, here's a quote from September 12, 2007: "PS - Call me crazy, but I have this feeling your team is going to win this weekend."
That weekend's game: USC.
9 comments:
First of all, how do you know I was talking about you? ;)
Second, you took ONE prediction where I thought you would play well and well...you didn't. As I told you, John David Booty was hurt, and USC struggled with Idaho at home the week before. I simply said it wouldn't shock me if they won...nothing more.
I think it comes down to two things: First, you all want to be good again REALLY REALLY bad. I don't blame you, because I didnt' enjoy watching my team suck for a while either. But second, your (and not necessarily you, but your fans in general) credibility is completely and totally shot.
This time last year, an ENDLESS cascade of propganda spewed from Husker fans about everything from JC Keller's rifle right arm, to Mo Purify catching 3,000 yards to Bill Callahan revolutionizing how college football teams practice. (Ok, maybe not you...but you were feeling pretty good there for a while you must admit.)
Regardless, "new" talent or "young" talent, does not necessarily mean "good" or "positive" talent. Again, I challenge you to find ANY team in history that has a new coach, new coordinators and as many newbies as you do and STILL improve your team by 3-4 wins. (The only exception being Charlie Weis, but I think we all agree..Willinigham was building a winner there. BC was not).
You made a living my friend bucking the trend and forming a rational base of free thinking and critical analysis.
But now, if you're going to act like the loonies, you're going to get lumped in with the loonies. Sorry buddy...it's just business.
:)
Again...I was never the one claiming that Keller was the anointed one. I never thought Billy C was brilliant (in fact, I thought the opposite).
In fact, as things unraveled, I'm shocked that he somehow managed to win 5 games last year.
If anything, I'm being consistent. I felt that Billy C was guilty of turning wins into losses...and now that he's completely out of the picture, I think the program improves dramatically.
Am I right? Well, we may know I was wrong in a little over a week...we won't know if I'm right until early October. We'll see.
It's called addition by subtraction AJ...
Years of lurking on HuskerPedia, and the unfortunate mistake of paying $20 last October to join (I was drunk off of the firing of Steve Pedersen) has turned me into quite jaded Husker fan. I read AJ's blog, then came over to read your response. Fact of the matter is, AJ is right an awful lot of the time. When he says things like the fans are largely responsible for the state of the program today, I believe him. I think he's onto something.
But that doesn't necessarily mean that he's 100% right about the FUTURE of the program, or even the past for that matter. I know that I could lose my fucking PediaCard for saying this, but AJ (and you, from what I've read) understands Husker football far better than the most ardent of Husker fans.
Anyways, I like seeing the two of you go back and forth. It's Cautious Optimism vs. Reality Check, and it's my kind of game. Keep it up.
I'm a Mizzou fan, but read lots of pages and just want to say....
I love college football...
this rat a tat tat is really great and part of my favorite passon...ncaa football.
Having said that I think NU thanks in large part to 8 home games goes 8-4. Will Bo succeed?...ya he is so much more than Calli. Will the old day return...no...the big 12 north will be much more balanced, which I feel is good for all...sorry no more 55-0 butt kickings for the nubs.
Mike, I think you underestimate the games he did win. Again, he was much better than you give him credit for for keeping games close and trying to pull a game out at the end. (Much like NFL teams do.)
Could I be wrong about Pelini? Yeah, I guess I could. But here's how you have to look at these things: Just like Vegas, you have to look at odds. You have to take all of the intangables out of the picture, and simply look at the facts.
FACT - Ganz has never ever been "the man". Does that mean he'll fail? No, but odds are less likely he will succeed without prior success. And no, 3 meaningless games do not count.
FACT - Bo Pelini's defense racked up INCREDIBLY slanted numbers at LSU. They played NINE of the worst defenses in college football ranked 75th in the nation or higher. FIVE of those teams were in the bottom 20 of all college offenses. Think about that for a second.
FACT - Bo Peini has never been a (non-interim) head coach. I say this all the time..the odds are, he will struggle early at the very least, because quite frankly that's what new coaches do.
FACT - If Billy C ran ALL of the offense last season, and it ended up in the top 10...don't you think there is a better than good chance that it could take a few steps back? Shawn Watson may as well be a brand new coordinator, if he had as little imput into the offense as you say. Fact remains, at the very least..you are starting over.
FACT - You lost your best playmaker on offense in Purify. That's not to say some young guy couldn't step up big...look at Maclin last year. However, you will be entering the year with only one real proven player who can break a play. (Lucky). So if I'm a DC, and I'm playing against Nebraska..think it would be real tough to stop an offense with one real offensive weapon?
You are building your season on hope and not on common sense. You're also banking on the fact that things could not have gotten worse than last year. On the contrary..they could have been MUCH worse...and they still might.
We shall see.
Husker hater- why is it that you post in the first place? If you hate the program and "live behind enemy lines" why don't you find something more constructive to do than blast a program that has and is making a positive difference in people's lives. As Rome has said on many occasions you sound like the bitter softball guy that wonders around muttering to himselft that if coach had only put me in we could of won a state champtionship. Your time could be used better to try and build something up rather than trying to destroy something that many thousands enjoy.
A better question to ask AJ is why does he post HERE. He has his own blog and rants how 'people don't have to read it', but then he shows up on Husker Mike's blog and further rants.
I know Mike seems to like the guy, and I'm sure Mike likes the attention, but AJ should just keep it in his corner of the web.
couldn't disagree more. it's nice to hear an outsiders opinion, hear what other big twelve foes think of our team...keeps the kool-aid watered down. I don't, however, agree with many things aj says. Every question mark this team has is a negative in his opinion. If there is a 51% chance that a particular husker player won't be a big twelve pick he automatically is worst player in the big twelve. Thats the fun the part tho. I can agree with him on one thing, I'm sick of those lousy Gayhawks thinking they're god's gift to college football. what a joke.
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